Tarek Amara

TUNIS, (Reuters) – On Sunday thousands of Tunisian supporters rallied in Tunis to back President Kais Saied’s suspension of parliament. They also pledged to overhaul the political system. This is what some call a coup.

In response to the protests against Saied’s actions, the demonstration was held in Tunis central. These protests are likely to be outnumbered by it.

The demonstrators waved Tunisian flags while carrying placards against Ennahda (the moderate Islamist party largest in parliament) and acted as Saied’s principal antagonist.

Salem Ajoudi (one of the protestors) said, “We request the president to disband parliament and hold responsible those who caused the people suffering for a decade.”

Tunisia’s president plunged it into a crisis of constitutional law in July, suspending its elected parliament, firing the prime minster and taking over executive powers.

In order to pass legislation by decree, he ignored a large portion of the constitution. This cast doubt on Tunisia’s democracy gains after its 2011 revolution, which led to the rise in the Muslim world’s “Arab Spring” rebellions.

Saied’s intervention came after years of economic stagnation, political paralysis, and an impending lockdown.

Tunisians blame many of these ills on corrupt and selfish political elite. In 2019, Saied was elected independent to represent ordinary citizens.

Saied’s intervening is widely considered by supporters to be a much-needed reset of democratic experiment.

Mongi Abdullah (a Mahdia-based teacher who came to the rally to cheer on Saied) said, “Saied has come to restore democracy.”

Although opinion polls indicate that Saied’s actions have broad support, Saied has been criticized for his inability to declare a timetable out of crisis.

Many of the influential labour union UGTT and his political elite say he needs to consult more widely if he wants to amend the constitution. He has already indicated that he would.

Their lawyer stated that a Tunisian officer arrested Sunday a member in parliament as well as a TV presenter. They were both prominent Saied critics since July. The police and army weren’t immediately available to comment.